Claude Elwood Shannon

I’ve photographed a few superstars in my career, but none as important, and as anonymous, as Claude Shannon, scientist for Bell Labs.

In 1948 Claude Elwood Shannon created “Information Theory” which eventually gave us the fax machine, CD, digital wireless telephone and MP3. He codeveloped the integrated circuit, artificial intelligence, and even genomics.

But Wikipedia credits him with founding both the digital computer and digital circuit design theory in his 1937 MIT master’s thesis. That thesis was also “hailed as the most important thesis of all time,” by ATT.

He invented the first chess playing machine and the algorithm that many computer programmers use to compress file size to send information, whether TV signals, photos, music or data.